Albus Potter and the Twin Galleons
by ActAppalled
Summary: After heading onto the Hogwarts Express for his first year, Albus discovers what Hogwarts hides beneath its walls. Very rough story, and probably something I will be reworking on to update it slightly!
1. Old Friends' Creatings Become New

Old Friends' Creations Become New To One Another

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, nor have I ever. J.K. Rowling is an amazing writer, and no one shall ever change that.

**A/N:** This story takes place right after the ending of _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows._ So please, unless you want to spoil the book (this is a note for those who have not yet read/finished the last book) I would advice you NOT to continue reading this. Thank you.

Albus Potter made his way through the Hogwarts Express, the cushioned, red velvet carpet of the train's hall making no noise under his feet. He pressed his hand against the compartment glass as he glanced inside it; a young boy, probably the same age as Albus himself, was sitting on the seat alone in the compartment, a tiny black owl perched on his lap. His face seemed so familiar to Albus, as if he had seen it before; slightly pudgy in the face, with a mop of dark brown hair and a nervous glance out the window. He resembled a picture that Albus' mother, Ginny, had shown him one night before going to bed.

"And this, Al, is an old friend of your father and myself. We went to school with him, and he has now taken on the roll of Herbology teacher," she had told him, laying the open photo album onto Albus' lap. Albus looked down into the photo album; a man with a round face, yet beaming smile was waving and smiling with his mother and father and his father's two oldest friends, Hermione and Ron. They were all much younger in the picture, though, about fifteen at the time.

"His name is Neville Longbottom. And when you attend Hogwarts next year, Al, you'll meet him too. He's a very kind man, and wouldn't dare hurt anyone, so I hope you treat him with respect," his mother had said before placing a soft kiss on his forehead and turning the light out.

As Albus glanced at the boy again, he noticed that the boy's big brown eyes were staring back at him. Albus slid open the compartment door and smiled.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, gesturing towards the seat across from the boy.

"N-not at all," the boy quivered nervously. Albus beamed and slid into the seat across from the boy. The tiny black owl fluttered it's wings at the new arrival.

"I'm Albus, Albus Potter. I think I know who your dad is," said Albus, extending a hand to the boy.

"My dad's the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts. I-I'm a first year. My name's Axton Longbottom," the boy said, taking Albus' hand in his. He shook it nervously.

"I thought so. I'm a first year, too. My parents are Ginny and Harry Potter." At the mention of his father's name, Axton's eyes grew wide with excitement. Albus was used to that kind of treatment, since his father had destroyed the most dangerous wizard ever to have walked the wizarding world.

"It's a honour, I swear!" said Axton, beaming happily as he bounced his knees under the black owl again. The owl hooted angrily and glared up at Axton. "Oh, I'm sorry Cleevey!" he replied, patting the owl's head.

Just then, there was a small tap on the compartment door, causing both Albus and Axton to turn towards it. A boy with ruffled black hair and bright blue eyes smiled at the two boys, where behind him a girl with long, wavy red hair and enormous blue eyes clamped onto his arm tightly. The boy pushed open the glass door.

"Al, who's this?" asked Albus' older brother, James, who was followed closely by the daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley, Rose.

"This is Professor Longbottom's son, Axton. He's a first year, too," said Albus, gesturing infront of him. "Axton, this is my older brother, James, and Ron and Hermione Weasley's daughter, Rose. James is a third year, but Rose is a first year like us."  
"Hi," said Axton nervously. James smiled.

"Hello!" said Rose unexpectedly, causing James to jump.

Just then, two almost identical children came up behind James and Rose. Both were platinum blonde with big blue eyes; the girl's hair was much longer and pulled into a ponytail with strands of gold hair framing her face, and the boy's hair was spikey and messy. Both were wearing their school robes already, displaying their navy-and-silver-striped ties.

"Oh, hello Tristan and Tessah Lovegood," said James, glancing over his shoulder. Tristan waved shyly and looked towards the open compartment.

"First years?" he asked, walking in to shake their hands. Albus introduced himself as James' brother, and Axton introduced himself as Professor Longbottom's son.

"You may want to change into your robes now. We're merely half an hour away from Hogsmead," said Tessah, playing at the badge of an eagle emblazed on her robe. Albus reached into his trunk and pulled a set of black robes, grey pants, a white button-up shirt, and a black tie and headed towards the boy's bathroom to change. James was already dressed in his robes, which were the same design as Tristan and Tessah's, except the tie was gold-and-red-striped.

Thirty-minutes later, the Hogwarts express pulled up infront of the town of Hogsmead. The prefects held the doors open for the train as the rest of the students piled out, most knowing exactly where to go while the first years looked around in a confused daze.

"Alrigh', first years are with me, come on 'ow," a rough voice called from down the train's platform. Albus looked up to see a very tall man, possibly ten-feet high, standing infront of him, an oil latern hanging from his garbage-lid-sized hands. The man had a thick, black beard that had grown tiny patches of grey from age, and an even thicker black mane of hair. His small beady eyes glanced down at Albus as he approached.

"Is that Albus Potter, I'm seein'?" the man bellowed cheerfully.

"Er, uh, yes," Albus said, scratching his ruffled head of black hair and blinking his green eyes up at the man.

"My lord, yer the spittin' image of 'Arry. I'm Hagrid. Your father may'of mentioned me once or twice," the man bellowed. Albus thought for a moment, but could not recall anything, but before he had the chance to answer, Hagrid was snapping his mouth at the first years.

"Come along. We'll be travellin' by boat now. I want five people per boat, and don't any of you dare try steerin', seein' as them boats are enchanted," said Hagrid.

Albus glanced around and quickly found Axton Longbottom and Rose Weasley, who found him aswell and made their way over. The three of them climbed into one of the worn-down wooden boats, where they quickly greeted two new students at Hogwarts, Helena Brown and Jackson Thomas. Albus noticed Helena was very pretty, with long, shiny black hair and soft brown eyes, while Jackson was more rough-looking under his mop of brown hair and cold green eyes. Still, both were very kind to Albus, Axton and Rose.

The boat-ride up to Hogwarts was long. The dark, moonlit sky caused an enchanting reflection of the moon to be cast on the dark waters of the lake surrounding Hogwarts. Their only source of light were tiny, oil lamps hanging from hooks at the back and front of the boat. Axton still clutched Cleevey in his hands, where the owl made no noises, but kept its head burried under its tiny wing. Rose and Helena had both started to fall asleep, Rose's head perched on Helena's shoulder while Helena's cheek rested in Rose's hair, yet Jackson made no notion of wanting to talk to Albus, who was perfectly fine with that.

When the five finally made it to the shore of Hogwarts, all of the other tiny boats were pulling up aswell. Albus seemed suprised to find that the last boat, which had somehow managed to hold the half-giant-half-man Hagrid, was still fully intact. As they made their way up to the castle, lead closely by Hagrid, Albus took in his surroundings, finding it hard to imagine that this would be his second-home. The enormous Hogwarts castle was dark in the moonlight except for the tiny windows of yellow light covering its stone surface. A tall, thick, moaning tree seemed to be snoring in the distance, and a tiny hut could be seen on the opposite side of the castle with billows of grey smoke toppling out of its chimney.

Hagrid lead the first-years into the castle, where fire immediately burst from the stone stands by the doors, leading towards the tall stairs that lead to an enormous, oak door. The door was so tall that Hagrid's head seemed to be ten feet away from the tip of the arch.

"Alrigh', you best all wait here for Professor Flitwick. He'll tell you exactly what to do when you enter the Great Hall," said Hagrid, and with a flick of his flowery, pink umbrella, he dissapeared.

Just then, the tall doors that stood infront of Albus and his fellow first years opened. At first, Albus did not see anyone, but when he looked down slightly, he saw a very short man with a long, trailing white beard and a floppy purple pointed hat gaze up at him from behind his rectangular glasses.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years! My name is Professor Flitwick, and I will be teaching you Charms this year," the tiny man said."Now, before you enter the Great Hall, you must only know this. When you enter, be in a single-file line and head straight to the front of the hall. From there, wait until Professor McGonagall has made her announcements and then the sorting will begin. The sorting involves sitting on a wooden stool and having a Sorting Hat placed upon your head, where it will place you in one of the following houses; Ravenclaws, the nobel ones; Hufflepuff, the sly ones; Slytherin, the powerful yet dark ones; and Gryffindor, the brave and strong ones. Good luck!"

Professor Flitwick pushed open the tall, oak doors and revealed the Great Hall. Albus gasped in shock and amazement at the sight that stood before him. The Great Hall was enormous, with four long tables stretched out in the room. Above each table hung four banners, each displaying which house each table belonged to. Albus beamed as he saw the Gryffindor table, where James sat near the front of the row, beaming down at Albus. The ceiling was enchanted into a night sky, with twinkling stars and floating candles throughout it's dark sky. It was astonishing.

Professor Flitwick lead the first years towards the front of the hall, where he took his place in the empty seat along the staff table. Albus glanced at Axton, who was smiling and waving towards a man quite similar to him in appearance, only much older. Albus recognized him as Professor Longbottom, Axton's father.

"First years, there are several rules you must follow," an elderly woman's voice said. Albus looked up to see a woman with a tall, pointed navy hat perched on her head, her black, greying hair tied into a tight bun and her rectangular spectacles perched on her nose. She folded her hands in her lap and stared down at the first years, her eyes fixed upon Albus.

"The Forbidden Forest is, of course, forbidden to every student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. You are banned from roaming the halls of the school anywhere past nine-thirty. You may not try out for Quidditch, or the newest competition at Hogwarts, Supressed Dueling, unless you are over the age of twelve. Any questions?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes fixed upon Albus again. When no one made a noise, Professor Flitwick scurried over as fast as he could on his small legs and placed a stool at the front of a hall, where he placed a tearing, withering hat upon it. He then handed Professor McGonagall a long, rolled-up piece of parchment as she made her way towards the stool before returning to his seat.

Professor McGonagall unrolled the parchment and gazed down at the first name to be called for sorting.

"Alyssa Abbot."

Albus glanced along the staff table from left to right; Professor Longbottom was at the end, his hands dingy from dirt and a speckle or two of dirt under his eyes, beaming down proudly at his son. Beside him was Hagrid, his massive body taking up a good chunk of one half of the table, who was combing at his tangled beared with a tiny pink comb. Next to Hagrid was Professor Flitwick, who's tuffs of white hair bushed out from underneath his hat. On the other side of Professor Flitwick was a tall man with long, brown hair tied back into a ponytail and a scruffy face. His eyes drooped slightly and he stared at Albus, his face twisted in some strange way. Albus shivered at the man.

"Let me see.. Hufflepuff!" said the Sorting Hat loudly. An eruption of cheering and clapping came from the Hufflepuff table as Alyssa Abbot made her way towards it.

"Rufus Aberton."

Albus glanced past the eerey man, past Professor McGonagall's empty seat, to a creepy woman with huge bug-like spectacles and a mass of grey and dirty blonde hair underneath a thin purple shawl wrapped around her head. Albus bit his lip and moved away from the bug-eyed lady to a plumper woman, who was still very radiant in a way; her hair golden and wavy, and her eyes slim in a shade of a blueish-green. She was very beautiful.

"Slytherin!"

The Slytherin table cheered as the newcomer made his way over. Albus took his eyes away from the staff tabled as the next name was called.

"Albus Potter."

Whispers spread throughout the Great Hall. Albus glanced sideways towards his brother, who was being whispered upon and stared at at the mention of their last name. Albus creeped up the steps and slid into the stool as Professor McGonagall dropped the hat onto his head.

"Oh yes, another Potter I see. Your father, a very brave man he was," said the Sorting Hat, its brow furrowing and the slit that was to be its mouth curling into a smile."Defeated the Dark Lord, as we all knew he would. He belogned in Gryffindor, or so he thought, and your eldest sibling, James, was a very noble choice of the Gryffindors aswell. But where shall we put you? You have the brains of a Ravenclaw, the sleekness of a Hufflepuff, the strangeness of a Slytherin, and the bravery of a Gryffindor. It really is your choice."

_Gryffindor_, Albus muttered in his head.

"Gryffindor? Are you sure?" the Sorting Hat repeated, glancing down towards Albus. Albus nodded quickly, his eyes shut tight. "Very well. GRYFFINDOR!"

The loud cheer of the Gryffindor table caused Albus to open his eyes again. Everyone was on their feet, clapping madly, including James. Albus smiled and jumped off the stool, running towards his classmates. He slid onto the bench, beside his older brother who gave him a happy smile.

"Rose Weasley."

Rose skipped up the steps, her read hair bouncing against her back and the butterfly clips holding her hair away from her face almost slipping out. She slid onto the stool, and before the hat could even touch her smooth head, it called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Another loud cheer. Albus smiled happily at his cousin as he let her slide onto the bench beside him.

Soon, the once-long line of first years had only two remaining students; Axton, and a boy with platinum blonde hair slicked back onto his head and steeley blue eyes. Albus recognized him instantly as Scorpius Malfoy.

"Axton Longbottom."  
Professor Longbottom beamed happily at the mention of his son's name. Axton nervously walked up to the stool and sat upon it, clutching the sides of the stool tightly with his white-knuckled hands. Professor McGonagall slid the hat onto Axton's dark hair.

"Oh, what have we got here? Another Longbottom? Wonderful, another Gryffindor aswell," the Sorting Hat croaked. Gryffindor screamed wildly as Axton made his way to the table, sliding onto the bench across from Albus.

"Scorpius Malfoy."

The blonde-haired boy smirked evily as he proudly stepped up to the stool. Albus noticed the hat slightly grimace as he recognized another Malfoy, and before the Professor could even place the hat on his head, even before she was nowhere near his scalp, the Sorting Hat cried out, "SLYTHERIN!"

Slytherin's cheered at the new comer. As Scorpius passed the Gryffindor table, he let his eyes fall upon Albus, smirking knowingly. They knew each other all too well, and Albus had always found it humorous that the only reason he was supposed to hate Scorpius was because he was the son of his father's most hated enemy, Draco Malfoy, but now Albus knew there was nothing but pure evil beneat his dark robes, blonde hair, and cold as ice eyes.

Once again, Albus found himself staring at the man with the ponytail at the staff table. His eyes seemed familiar to Albus, and suddenly, his hair changed colour; from the depressing brown to a vibrant black with blonde, purple, pink and red stripes throughout it. Albus jumped, startled by the sudden change. As he looked closer, he noticed the man looked alot younger than he had thought before.

"James, who's that?" Albus muttered as Professor McGonagall announced for the feast to begin. Mountains of food spread across the table infront of them, where James was hidden behind an enormous jug of pumpkin juice.

James slid the juice jug out of the way.

"Professor Ted Lupin."


	2. The Burned Passage

The Burned Passage

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, nor have I ever. J.K. Rowling is an amazing writer, and no one shall ever change that.

**A/N:**Hello there. I was quite excited to see all the reviews merely an hour after posting the first chapter, yet I also noticed a lot of complaints, suggestions and questions that I thought I should answer.

1. In this story, Harry has been too busy with his family and personal life to contact weekly, monthly, etc. He has contacted Hagrid, but has not told his child what Hagrid looked like, only that he was an old friend of Harry's.

2. It was established that James knew Neville, because James had been attended Hogwarts already. However, Albus was just attending Hogwarts; he may have seen him and known him, but not his child.

3. I'll admit, I forgot what Hufflepuffs were slightly; I mean, we really don't hear enough about Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff :P

4. I'm aware that Ted Lupin he was snogging another student on the train, and I just thought it would be an interesting twist to have the son of an ex-teacher become a professor at Hogwarts Also, I have chosen to alter around the rules since Voldemorts death, and that if they are strong enough in power, wizards and witches from the ages of 18 and up are allowed to apply for a professor job at a school, or apply to a job at the Ministry.

5. The pairing that will happen in this story is yet to be announced; I don't want to give away any secrets.. and yes, it is annoying that they haven't added the new people yet, but I suppose it's because people are still reading the 7th book.

6. Draco was one of Harry's childhood enemies; no, he wasn't his greatest, but he was one of them.

And I have also had a comment about altering the title, as to not spoil the novel for anyone; people can assume that I made up the name, they don't necessarily need to know that it is Harry's actual son's name. However, most people like to flip to the back of the book before reading to see what they can expect, so some people may already know the name.

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Albus rolled over in his dormitory bed, blinded suddenly by the bright sunlight from the open window. He groaned sleepily and sat up in his four-poster bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. The sunlight poured in from the open window of the boy's dormitory in the Gryffindor tower. Beside his bed lay Axton Longbottom, his one arm twisted awkwardly around his neck in a position that looked like a mangled ballerina. Albus couldn't help but chuckle at his own thought before slipping his bare feet into the comforting warmth of a pair of socks and standing up on the cold, wooden floor. The ground creaked underneath him and Albus gulped heavily, staring down upon Jackson Thomas, who was sleeping on the other side of him. Albus changed into a pair of dark grey pants, a white button-up shirt, and a black jumper his Grandma Weasley had sent him the day before leaving for Hogwarts. Quietly, Albus crept out of the room and down the creaking stairs to the common room of Gryffindor Tower.

The warm fire welcomed Albus as he entered the common room. On one of the over-stuffed armchairs, Rose Weasley had fallen asleep with Hogwarts: A History open in her lap, her head peacefully rested against one of the cushions. Albus thought of waking her up to come down for breakfast, but decided against it; she was never the best morning person.

Instead, Albus pushed open the opposite-side of the Gryffindor entrance portrait and walked down the corridors, passing by some fellow Hogwarts students who had decided to wake up just as early as he had. Tristan and Tessah Lovegood were dressed in their Ravenclaw robes and walking in unison towards the Great Hall; Tessah had an open copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them in her arms while Tristan was twisting his wand this way and that way, muttering a charm under his breath. Albus followed them towards the Great Hall and pushed open the doors to take a seat at the Gryffindor table. Not many people were up already; Hagrid and Ted Lupin were the only people at the staff table, who were whispering in a hushed voice to one another over plates of waffles and eggs. Albus frowned as he tried to make out their conversation, but failed.

"G'morning, Albus!" a cheerful voice said. Albus turned around to see Helena Brown walking towards him, her glowing black hair twirling behind her. Albus stared blankly, enchanted by her beauty for a moment before snapping back to reality.

"Good morning, Helena," he replied, watching her as she sat across from him and helped herself to a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"T'is quite cold outside today, but with a warm sun. Perfect September weather, don't you agree?" said Helena, taking a long sip of her juice. Albus nodded and shoveled mounds of scrambled eggs onto his place, still staring at Helena. Her eyes were the softest shade of brown, like melted chocolate, and her hair shimmered even in the dim light of the remaining candles hovering above them. She smiled and giggled softly.

"Albus are you really that hungry?" she said, pointing towards Albus' plate. Albus looked down and saw that his plate was overflowing from scrambled eggs, piling onto the table beside the plate. Albus blushed and looked down.

"No worry. _Removus Fodcular_," said Helena, waving her wand at Albus' plate. The scrambled eggs surrounding his plate disappeared in a tiny poof of dust, and half of the eggs on his plate did as well, allowing more space.

"Thanks," Albus mumbled, blushing madly behind his long, black hair.

"Morning, Al," Axton Longbottom's voice called out. Albus turned his head to see Axton twisting his way around students leaving the Great Hall to come towards Albus, Cleevey perched on his shoulder and his hair still sticking up from rolling around in his sleep. His black jumper was one size too large, since it hung lazily off his shoulders.

"Morning, Axton," said Albus, moving over to make room for him. Axton fell upon the bench and smiled across at Helena, who smiled back and collected her books, moving down the bench on the Gryffindor table towards her fellow friend, Aurora Patil.

"What have you got for your first classes, Albus?" said Axton, piling five cauldron cakes onto his plate. Albus removed a tiny roll of parchment from his pocket and glanced over it before returning it to his pocket.

"Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts and then Herbology," he announced in order, scooping a fork full of eggs into his mouth. Axton nodded and patted Creevey's tiny head before feeding him some cauldron cake. The little owl nibbled it happily before swallowing it, hooting for more. Albus grinned as he watched Axton continue to feed Creevey this way before he finished off his breakfast and suggested browsing the grounds before heading to their first class.

As Albus pushed open the doors to the grounds of Hogwarts, a cold wind fell over his face. Axton wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck and mouth before following Albus outside into the chill September wind.

"My mum's not written yet, I hope everything's alright," said Axton, scratching Creevey's chin gently. Albus gave Axton a confused look.

"But it's only been a day since we arrived. Why would she write so quickly?" asked Albus, twirling his wand around between his fingertips. Axton shrugged and let Creevey slip off his shoulder to peck at worms on the ground in front of them, where Axton sat down against a tree. Albus joined him.

About ten minutes later, Albus scrunched up his nose at the sudden smell of smoke; the boys had been sitting in silence since they originally sat down by the tree. He turned his head towards Axton, who had fallen asleep against the bark, a thin line of drool hanging from his open mouth.

"Ax, wake up. Ax! Wake up! Do you smell that?" asked Albus, shaking his friend. Axton groaned as he opened his eyes and stared blankly at Albus for a moment before sniffing the air and scrunching his nose as well. "It smells like smoke. You don't think something's on fire, do you?" he asked, suddenly feeling alert and aware that there must be a fire somewhere. Albus searched the grounds of Hogwarts, everywhere from the ground to the lake to the sky. Suddenly, a long trail of thick, black smoke caught his eye in the far distance of the forest.

"It's coming from there, come on!" commanded Albus, jumping up from the ground and nearly running over Creevey.

Axton ran behind him, panting as he picked up Creevey in his hands. "But Professor McGonagall said the Forbidden Forest was.. forbidden!" he yelled at his friend, following his eyes to the trail of smoke in the sky.

Albus ignored him; his mind was racing of thoughts. Was somebody in trouble? Hagrid? Rose? All he knew was that a fire meant danger, and danger sometimes meant death. He had to help.

As they reached the forest, Albus took a deep breath and glanced around; all the students were on the grounds closer to the castle, and not one eye seemed to be on them, so he ran into the thick forest. Axton whimpered as he watched Albus run in before following him. The only sound that was heard between either boy was the sound of their feet snapping twigs below them.

The Forbidden Forest was thick, mainly trees, which made it hard for the boys to make their way through. It was so thick that their was very little sunlight, which also made it hard to see where they were going. At one point, Axton fell into a small river creek in the forest, where he collided with a strange-smelling liquid that was nothing like water.

"What is this stuff?" Axton yelled at Albus, who he could see in a small patch of sunlight. Albus turned and made his way over to Axton, bending down to look at the liquid he was lying in. It wasn't water at all, but a thick, silvery liquid, like molten silver. Albus dipped his finger into the liquid and held it to his eyes, examining it.

"I think my dad's mentioned this before," explained Albus, biting his lip in concentration. "In his first year at Hogwarts, he had a detention with his friends and Draco Malfoy, and they went into the Forbidden Forest. He saw Voldemort there, feeding on unicorn's blood. He described it just like this."

Axton swallowed hard. "_Unicorn blood_? S-so where there's blood, there must be a d-d-dead unicorn, right?" he stuttered nervously. Albus nodded slowly and wiped his hand on his robes before standing up to help Axton out of the pool of blood.

"It's hard to see in here," said Albus, squinting his eyes to try to see through the thick forest.

"My mum taught me something that might work," said Axton, pulling out his wand. "_Lumos_."

A tiny spark of light appeared at the end of his wand, causing a flashlight-like glow in front of them. Albus beamed at Axton as they made their way through the forest, using their noses to lead themselves into which direction.

Suddenly, there was thick, grey smoke billowing out from underneath an enormous rock. Albus coughed quietly as he tried to lift or push the rock. After a few minutes of heaving, the rock slid to the side, and an enormous load of more smoke swam out from under the rock. Axton and Albus coughed madly, shielding their faces from the thick smoke until it ended.

When the smoke cleared, there was a very obvious view underneath the rock. A flight of stairs lead down into a deep, dark hole in the ground from underneath the rock, where traces of smoke still floated out from inside it.

"Let's go," Albus said, taking Axton's wand and holding the light in front of him as he crept down the stairs. Axton carefully followed, whimpering nervously as they made their way through the passage.

The stairs were much longer then Albus thought, since they seemed to turn in every direction. Along their way, tiny oil lamps lit up in nooks on the stone wall in the earth, providing more light. Albus handed Axton his wand back, who muttered a charm to remove the light. When they finally hit the last step, Albus awed at the sight before him. There was an enormous room in front of him, made entirely out of some sort of stone, with long, marble benches in neat rows. At the front of the room was a tall, white, marble coffin-like object, standing up and facing them, closed.

"What is this place?" said Axton, glancing around the room. Albus shrugged, still in amazement at the room before him. The stone walls were splattered with what looked like red and gold paint, Gryffindor colours, and had tall, black pillars in each corner. It almost looked like some type of church, but darker.

Albus became curious of the coffin-like object at the front of the room, and stepped up to it. The smooth, marble top of the coffin was closed. Albus ran his fingertips up the sides of the coffin to feel for a crack. When he felt it, he slipped his fingers into either side of it, and pulled the top off. Alas, there was nothing inside the coffin but three shelves and two empty glass jars. "What's that?" asked Axton, walking up behind Albus, who shrugged and started to close it again before something caught his eye. He stopped and bent down to the bottom of the coffin, where a flash of gold caught his eye. He stooped down lower and lower until he was at the last shelf. A thin, gold coin sat at the bottom of it. Albus picked up the coin in his fingers and ran his thumb over the front. It resembled a Galleon, but showed a lion's head with two eagles perched on each of it's ears, and a snake slithering behind its head like a tail.

"What is it?" asked Axton, glancing over Albus' shoulder.

"I'm not sure," admitted Albus. "But I know someone who might."


	3. The Tunnel of Erasade

The Tunnel of Erasade

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, nor have I ever. J.K. Rowling is an amazing writer, and no one shall ever change that.

**A/N:** Sorry for the little delay. I went to my cousin's wedding this weekend, where I was a bridesmaid, so I got held up. I'll be updating as much as I can this summer, since I don't have much other plans ahead! Keep reading, reviewing, and enjoy!

As soon as Albus and Axton left the mysterious passage they had found, they made sure to seal it again so no one else could find their way in; Axton had difficulty pushing the large stone back over the hole while Albus scattered some random leaves around the visible cracks. When Axton asked why they were covering the hole, Albus explained that he didn't want any other students finding it and claiming it as their own discovery. When the two boys were certain that the passage entrance was fully covered, they walked back through the forest. Albus examined the fake Galleon along the way, rolling the thin coin of gold between his fingers.

"That's not a _real_ Galleon, is it? I mean, look at the detail on it!" exclaimed Axton, pointing down at the lion's head, who roared back angrily at Axton.

"No, it's not," said Albus, biting his bottom lip as he slipped the Galleon into the pocket of his pants.

"And who do you know that will explain it? I mean, we've only been here for a few days, and we haven't met anyone," said Axton nervously.

"You'll see."

Albus lead Axton back inside the castle, being very careful to not be seen by any students or teachers as they made their way out of the Forbidden Forest. They crept into the main corridor, up a twisting tower, and in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Professor Lupin? You're going to ask a nineteen-year-old-barely-trained Professor what this lion has anything to do with the fake Galleon," Axton said, staring up at the shiny, gold name-plate by the door:

_Professor 'Teddy' Lupin_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor_

_Son of Former Teacher, Remus Lupin_

"You'll see," said Albus and, without another word, he tapped the door of Professor Lupin's office with his bare knuckles three times, stepping back as he awaited an answer.

The door to Lupin's office opened, and there he stood. Unlike his appearance before, his hair had been taken out of the ponytail and was hanging loose down his shoulders, now in a strange shade of red, black, brown, and blonde. His eyes were tired, and his robes were opened, revealing a dim grey jumper and black pleated pants. He stared down at Albus and Axton with a tired, yet startling expression.

"Oh, hello there boys," said Lupin more lively than he looked. "What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Professor," said Albus calmly. "Can we have a word?"

"Of course, come in." Ted Lupin stepped back from the doorway to allow them inside.

Lupin's office was decorated in a very odd, yet unique way. There were rows and rows of shelves, all packed about a foot apart from each other on, on one wall. On the shelves stood jars with different-coloured liquids in them, from red to black to a strange mixture of pink, green, and blue. Most of the liquids held objects in them, floating half-way above the top of the watery substance. Albus glanced around at the jars, which held some of the strangest things he'd ever seen; unicorn horns floated lazily in jars of bright pink liquid, pixie wings hovered against ripples and waves of bright blue-and-green striped liquid, and frog tongues spun against the tides of red bubbles. On the either side of the room stood an enormous bird cage which held a large red, orange and yellow-coloured bird, which was very similar to the bird Albus' father had shown him in picture albums, who he said was named Fawkes. Beside the birdcage was Lupin's desk, unorganized and cluttered with papers, quills, ink bottles, and random opened books, such as _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them_ and _The Tales and Diaries of Magical Misfits_ by Ruby Stergamore. Behind Lupin's desk sat an enormous, over-stuffed black armchair, and in front of his desk stood three identical, smaller ones.

"Please, have a seat while I get us some snacks," suggested Lupin and, with a wave of his wand, he cast a spell on Albus and Axton, sending them flying back against the chairs softly. Albus adjusted himself on the seat as Lupin made his way to a cluttered side table which held a stack of shiny, silver goblets, a large jug of pumpkin juice, a few unopened bottles of butter beer, and a stack of cauldron cakes and pumpkin pastries. Lupin sat a variety of the cauldron cakes and pumpkin pastries onto a tin tray along with three bottles of butter beer and made his way back to his desk, clearing room for the tray before sitting down in the larger chair, smiling at them.

"What can I help you with?" he said, taking a cauldron cake as his hair changed to a bright blue colour.

Albus shifted in his seat as he rummaged around for the fake Galleon. When he finally felt the cold metal between his fingers, he set it down on the desk in front of Lupin. "We found this in the Forbidden Forest," started Albus, pausing for a moment as he saw the look on Lupin's face. "I mean, on the edge of the forest, and we were wondering if you knew what it resembled. We've already come to the conclusion that it can't be a Galleon, because a Galleon doesn't have that sort of pattern on it. As far as I can tell, it looks like the houses of Hogwarts, except it's missing the Hufflepuff badger."

Lupin leaned over his desk and took the fake Galleon between his fingers, examining it in the sunlight. He squinted slightly and then his eyes went wide.

"It can't be," he muttered softly, staring from the coin, to Albus, to Axton, who was sweaty from nerves. Lupin glanced back at Albus. "Where did you find this?"

"We said, at the edge of the forest," said Albus. Lupin laughed quietly.

"Potter, I can already tell that's a lie. You found this in the Tunnel of Erasade."

"The Tunnel of what?" asked Axton, gnawing off his bottom lip.

"The Tunnel of Erasade," repeated Lupin, placing the coin back on the desk. "Hundreds of years ago, Donathon Alessandro Erasade was the most powerful wizard in all of Italy. He was born and raised in Rome, Italy, and was transferred to London, England at the mere age of seventeen. His family died from the well-known Killing Curse..."

"Avada Kadavara," Albus finished. Lupin nodded solemnly.

"Precisely, and when his parents died, he went mad. He regained his saneness from a very powerful wand, one that I believe your father earned, as well as the Dark Lord. They say the phoenix only provided two feathers for both wands, but in reality, it provided three.

"After Erasade received the wand, he created thousands of spells, charms and potions, including _Lumos_ and _Wingardium Leviosa_, which are two popular ones used in Flitwick's first-year's charms class.

"But after he created them, he became so mad that he turned his wand on himself, and used the very same curse that killed his parents. He couldn't suffer with his own insanity, and fell backwards into the Forbidden Forest here at Hogwarts in his seventh year. His own spell didn't work, because he somehow became so powerful that all of his self-made charms and spells protected him from everything that could ever kill him.

"When he finally did figure out how to destroy himself, he figured that he would create something that when used properly would release the one charm that is so powerful and so mysterious, every witch and wizard wanted to know about it. No one even knows what the charm is capable of doing, but they wanted it. And he decided that the only way this would happen is if he made two keys, two fake gold coins that resembled Galleons to release the charm. He hid two of them, one in his home country and one in his new country.

"Then, prepared for his death, he made a large ditch, tunnel of you will, and created his own sort of tomb, one that no one besides himself knew about. Then, he created a large barrier against his tomb so that it would never be harmed, damaged, or burned. But the tomb was a different story.

He set fire to the tomb, and locked himself in it. At the same time, he cast the Killing Curse on himself over and over until he finally managed to break the shield of charms and die. No one found him. Instead, his spirit transformed his ashes into a clear air, and with his spirit, pushed both into one jar, while another jar held the world's most powerful charm ever."

Albus stared down at the fake Galleon they had found. This was it then. They had found the first key-hole to the most powerful charm known in the wizardry world, and all because of their own curiosity.

"So, what do we do now?" said Axton, staring down at the fake coin. Lupin stood up from his desk, handing them a bottle of butter beer each.

"It'd be best if you two boys hid this coin, safe away where no one else can find it. I suggest we go look at the tunnel tomorrow, after your classes are over and right before the feast. Perhaps we can find some sort of clue to where the other fake Galleon is," said Lupin, shoving another cauldron cake into his mouth and washing it down with butter beer.

"Where should we meet?" asked Albus eagerly. Lupin smiled as his hair turned into a vibrant shade of pink.

"My classroom, and if any teacher or friend asks you where you are going, you simply say you have last-minute homework questions for me."

Albus and Axton agreed on the plan and took the fake Galleon with them before leaving Ted Lupin's classroom and making their way down to the Great Hall so they could enjoy their lunch.

As they entered the Great Hall, a cheerful voice greeted their arrival.

"Hello, Albus! Good afternoon, Axton," said Helena Brown happily. Albus gulped softly as he stared into the eyes of the beautiful Helena, who smiled back. His knees wobbled a little and his palms became clammy as he smiled at Helena.

"Hello, Helena," he finally managed to spit out. Axton nodded his hello as he sat down beside Jackson Thomas, who was in a much better mood today and started to pass Axton bowls of steamed vegetables and plates of roast pork.

"Isn't it wonderful weather outside?" Helena said happily. Albus nodded slowly and bit his bottom lip. Why did he feel so nervous and strange around her? It was a new feeling like no other.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. We have our first Potion's lesson together!" exclaimed Helena, smiling brightly and spinning on her heel. Albus watched and smiled, tilting his head. Helena was gorgeous, stunning, perfect, beautiful…

"Albus Potter! Please come to my office," said Ted Lupin's booming voice.

**A/N: Kind of short, but I've decided to update stories where I left people hanging on by a thread. So I'll probably update in a few days after updating the others. Sorry! But read, review, and you know the rest.**


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